Harrow



C. F. AND M. G. MATZ AND B. V. KERPER.

HARROW.

- APPLICATION FILED' AuG.2. 1919. I '1,355,494. Patented oet. 12,1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

o o N g C. F. AND M. G. MATZ AND B. V. KEHPER.

HARROW.

UNITED STATES CHARLES E. MATz, MICHAEL G. MA'Tz, AND BERNARD v. KERPER, or DUBUQUE, `IOWA.

PATENT OFFICE.

Specification of Letters fatent. l ,Patented Oct 12, 1920 Application led August Y2, 1919. Serial No. 314,823.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES F. MA'rz, MICHAEL G. MA'rz, and BERNARD V. KERrE'R, citizens of the United L States, residing at Dubuque, in the countyV of Dubuque and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Harrows, of

which the following is a specification. Y Our invention relates to that class of harrows in whichthe ground-engaging mem* ber consists of a continuous spiral ribbon of metal and the object of the invention is to improve the construction so as to minimize the cost and facilitatethe assembling of the parts while at the same time obtaining superior results from the use of the harrow.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of` a harrow constructed in accordance withour present invention;

Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section through one of the gangs or spirals;

Fig t is a detail perspective view of the connection between the draft-applying members and the inner ends of the spiral gangs;

Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the connection between the inner end of the spiral ribbon and the inner end of the axle;

Fig. 6 is a similar view of the connection at the outer end of the spiral; i

Fig. 7 is a'detailv perspective view of the support for one of the intermediate spokes ofthe spiral;

Fig. 8 is a detail perspective view of the device employed for applying draft to the outer end of the spiral gang;

Fig. 9 is a detail perspective view. of a bushingor sleevewhich is employed to close the end of thetube fitted around the axle;

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the parts of a latch employed to hold the spiral gangs in a set angular position; n

Fig. 11 is afdetail section showing differ.- ent forms of ribbons.

The frame of the harrow consists essentially of a draft tongue 1, transverse beams 2 and 3 secured, respectively, to the upper and lower sides of the tongue adjacent the rear end thereof, and braces 4 secured to the tongue and tothe said beams. A spring standard 5 isA secured to the rear end of the tongue and carries a seat 6. On the under side of the tongue at the rear end thereof is secured a Vbracket 7 having spaced depend= ing arms between which a roller 18 is mounted to be engaged by the upper vedges of the draft'bars 9. The bracket 7 is provided with a plurality of openingsl 10 in any one of whichA av shouldered pin 11 may be inserted to carry the roller 8, the4 shoulders of the pin engaging againstthe inner faces of the side members of the bracket so which are threaded onto the inner ends ofv the axles 15, as clearly shown in Fig. 3. The rear ends of the arches 12 are engaged in. a bail or link 16 so that the spreading apart of th-e draft bars will be rendered negligible and consequently the uncultivated space between the two gangs or spirals will` be minimized. The front ends of the draft bars 9 are pivoted to the lower end of a lever 17 which extends througha longitu-y dinal slot in the tongue 1 andis'fulcrumed upon a holding rack 18 secured rigidly upon the yupper side of the tongue. Upon the side of the lever 17 is slidably fitted a latch 19 adapted to engage the rack 18 and controlled by a handle 20 at the vupper end of the lever and connected with the latch by a link 21. The latch is constructed with a longitudinal Yslot 22 to engage over a boss 23 on the inner face of one wall of a keeper y y tween the side edges of the boss 23 and the v side flanges of the keeper so that it isheld to a rectilinear path and will always be in proper position to engage the rack 18. `A spring 25 playing Vbetween the boss 23 and the lower Vwall of the slot 22 tends to normally hold the latch in engagement with the rack so that when the lever has been adjusted to set the spiral gangs the latchvwill automatically engage the. rack and lhold the spirals-in the set position.

Each axle 15 is a bar having threaded extremities and surrounded by a pipev or tube 26 which maybe filled with oil or other lubricant, the opening for the lubricant be more particularly, it will be noted that the` vertical opening 29 is formed in an offset32 on the front side of the nut or block 28at the end thereof which receives .the axle and v a threaded opening 33 is formed in the said V end of the nutV or block to engage the threaded extremity of the axle. yA second vertical opening 34 is formed through the nut 28 at the outer side thereof to receive the stem o f a weight box support; the upper portion of said support being forked, as

shown at 36, so asV to be rigidly secured to' the outer end of the weight box 37. The inner end of the weight box is connected directly with the arch 12 of the respectivelyY adjacent draft bar 9 by a bracket or angle bar 38, the saidbracket or angle bar being rigidly secured to the draft bar and pivotally connected with the endof the weight box sothat while theinner end of the weight box will be held close to the draft bar in all adjustments of the harrow the relative angular movement of the weight box will be readilyk accommodated without causing the inner ends of the vgangs'to unduly separate. It will also be readily noted upon reference to the dotted lines in Fig. l that when the draft bars are adjusted rearwardlyv so as to set the spirals in an oblique position, the outer ends of the spirals will be drawn inwardly and the links 3l will swing about their pivotal' connection with the harrow frame and the axles so as to permit the outer ends of the spirals to move inwardly. ,f

The ground-engaging. member 39 is in the form of a continuous spiral metal ribbon having one edge sharpened so that it will readily penetrate the soil. At intermediate points of the spiraL-it is supported by spokes 40which are rigidly 'securedy at their outer ends to the spiral and have Vtheirinner ends secured in seats 4l provided in arms 42 extending from collars 43 which are secured upon the tube 26 inclosing the axle. At .the

' inner end of the spiral, we provide two spokes to firmly support the same and the inner ends of these spokes are secured in seats 44 formed in the outer faces of a bar 45, said bar being provided at its center with a cir- Y cular boss 46 to fit around the tube'26 and j se'rted in the end of the tube 26 and lits closely around the axle 15.an annular flange or head 51 being provided at the Outer @11d of the thimble to abut the rib 47, as clearly shown in F ig, 3,.so that thethimble-will effectually close the end of Vthe tube 26 and prevent the entrance of dirt thereinto and also prevent the loss of lubricant therefrom.

.The engagement of the lug 49 in the notch 48 will cause the thimble to rotate with the bracket 45 and the spiral so that the only wear will be between the thimble and the axle. The head or flange 51 prevcnts'the thimble being driven in beyond the Vrib 47 and also furnishesa wide bearin for thenut 14. VAt the outer end of thesplral, we also employ two spokes which are secured in seat 52 formed in the outer face of a bracket 53 which is provided atitscenter vwitha hub 54 projecting from both its sides. The inner end of the hub *'54 is fittedover the outer endlof `the tube'26, as shownclearly in Fig. 3, andthe outer end of thel hubis provided with an inturned annular langeror rib .55 to abut the end of the said tubeV and also hasa notch 56 to be engaged by the lug 49 on a second sleeve or bushing Y l fitted through the hub into the end ofthe sleeve and`fits closelyV around the axle., It

50 which is that the loss of its width and then extend at a right angle to its inner thickened edge, as shown at b in Fig. 1l. We haveV found that a flat groundengaging face is exceedingly advantageous for the reason that it penetrates the soil more readily than a dished or convex face and does not hold dirt as a concave face does.V Inasmuch as the working face ofthe belt does not hold the dirt itpolishes more readily and, therefore, remains in an opera'- tive condition for a longer period than other i forms of blades which are known to us. Y

Fromthe foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be seen thatwe have provided a strong, simple and durableV har'row by the use ofl which the ground, may be thoroughly pulverized and the untreated surface ref duced to a minimum. The rear ends of the draft bars areheld'togetheras they are V,ad-

justed rearwardly and, consequently, the inthey may be readily tted together and when assembled the latch will be eifectually guided and the projecting spring housed and guarded against. The branched standard or support for the outer end of the weight box holds the same very firmly so that it cannot tilt but at the same time this support is capable of pivotal movement in the nut or block on the end of the axle so that possible relative movement between the weight box and the spiral will be accommodated. Moreover, by our present arrangement draft is applied directly to the nut or block on the outer end of the axle and also to the nut on the inner end of the axle and to the inner end of the weight box so that any tendency of the spiral to drag or yield to the ground is eifectually overcome. The brackets employed to provide seats for the spokes at the ends of the spiral will very effectually brace the said spokes so that they will withstand the strain placed thereon and the mounting of these brackets isY such that they will rotate with the bushings and the spiral without excessive frictional wear.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

l. In a spiral harrow, the combination of an axle, a ,sleeve encircling the axle, thimbles fitted around the axle and in the ends of the sleeve, brackets abutting the ends of the sleeve and fitted around and locked to the thimbles, spokes secured to said brackets, and a spiral blade secured to and extending between the spokes of the two brackets.

2. In a spiral harrow, the combination of an axle,'a sleeve encircling the axle, a thimble fitted around the axle and in the end of the sleeve, a bracket having seats on its outer face and provided with a hub portion tting over the end of the sleeve and having an Vinternal rib fitting between the end of the sleeve and the yhead of the thimble, said rib being provided with a notch to engage a lug on the thimble, spokes secured in the seats of said bracket. and a blade carried by the spokes.

3. In a harrow, the combination of a harrow frame, a draft bar mounted thereon and extending rearwardly therefrom, an axle, a blade mounted for rotation about the axle, a nut fitted on the inner end of the axle and having a vertical opening therethrough in which the downturned rear end of the draft bar is received, a nut on the outer end of the axle having a forwardly projecting offset, and a link pivoted at its front end to the harrow frame and having its rear end downturned and pivotally engaged in said offset.

4C. In a harrow, the combination of a harrow frame, an axle, a blade mounted for rotation about the axle, nuts fitted on the ends of the axle, a draft bar mounted' on and extending rearwardly from the harrow frame and having its rear end turned downwardly and engaged through the nut at one end of the axle, a draft link pivoted to the opposite end of the harrow frame and pivotally engaged in the nut on the adjacent end of the axle, a standard having its lower end inserted through and supported in the last mentioned nut, a connecting bar secured to the draft bar adjacent the rear end thereof, and a weight carriersecured at one end to the saidstandard and at its opposite end to said connecting bar.

5. In a harrow, the combination of a frame, a pair of'draft bars mounted on the said frame and projecting rearwardly therefrom at the lcenter thereof, means for adjusting said draft bars forwardly or rearwardly, links pivoted at their front ends to the outer ends of the frame, axle supports pivotally connected at their ends with the Vrear ends of the draft bars and the said links, respectively, axles carried by said supports, blades mounted for rotation about said axles, and a' nonextensible connection between the rear ends of the draft bars whereby they will be maintained insubstantial parallelism in all their adjusted positions.

6. In a harrow, the combination of a pair of gangs, draft bars connected with the inner adjacent ends of the gangs, means for supporting the outer end of the gangs and permitting relative inward movement thereof, means for shifting the draft bars longitudinally whereby to vary the angular relation of the gangs, and a link connecting the rear ends of the draft bars whereby to prevent separationof the adjacent ends of the gangs in their various positions.

'7. In a harrow, the combination of a frame, ground-engaging members mounted in rear of the frame, supporting devices extending between the ends of the frame and the outer ends ofthe ground-engaging members, draft bars connected with the inner ends of the ground-engaging members and supported on the frame for movement in the direction of their length, an adjusting lever mounted on the frame and connected with the draft bars, a holding rack on the frame adjacent the lever, and a latch mounted on the lever and arranged to engage said rack, said latch being longitudinally slotted, a keeper extending over the latch and having a boss engaging the slot therein, and a spring disposed between the said'boss and the lower end of the Slot in the latch.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures.

cHARLEs E. MATZ. [1.. 3.] MICHAEL e. MATZ. [La] BERNARD v. KERPER. [L s j 

